Nightmare
by Pokka
Summary: In the beginning of their partnership, the kids need to adjust and open up, and Kilik needs to learn more about fire safety.


He remembered their first couple months together as partners very well. A little too well, if he was honest with himself. There were many diaper changes and a lot of messes (note to self; Thunder likes creamed corn, Fire does not) and, well, there were nightmares, too. Lots and lots of nightmares.

He thinks that they had them before he found out, and long before they ever met. For the longest time, they didn't talk to him much, only to each other, but they came around slowly. It only took a few months of being fed, clothed, and generally loved for them to give in and begin acting like children again. The first time he heard them laugh, well, he doesn't think he'll ever forget it. He also won't be forgetting the first time he heard them cry, either, unfortunately.

Kilik doesn't remember what had awoken him, maybe a full bladder or dry throat, but as soon as he opened his door and the sound of tiny sniffles and sobs floated down the hall well...it's safe to say that whatever it was had been quickly forgotten. He dashed to the twins' door, socked feet slipping and sliding on the polished wood, and the door burst open a bit more harshly than he had meant as he tried to catch himself. The kids nearly leaped from their skin and suddenly Fire's hair caught aflame, alighting the dark room much better than the Scooby-Doo night light in between their beds. Kilik scrambled towards the boy, stubbing his toe on what looked to be a fucking rock before managing to crouch down in front of them and hurriedly pat out the fire with his bare hands without another thought.

Thunder sniffed and tugged her Doc McStuffins comforter around her shoulders a bit tighter, blinking owlishly at him as the room turned nearly dark once again. He ignored the rising blisters on his palms, instead opting for assuring his partners were okay. "What happened? What's wrong?" He half whispered, dark eyes flicking over their tiny bodies, though there was nothing abnormal to be found.

They stared at him in silence, their large blue eyes still a bit red and puffy. Kilik's hands still hovered in front of him, frozen in ridged claws as he tried not to disturb the burns. "Did one of you have an accident?" Fire glared daggers at him and Thunder quickly shook her head 'no'. "...Nightmare?" Fire shifted his gaze to the floor and Thunder began to sniffle again, her bottom lip quivering. "Oh. Oh no, c'mere- I'm sorry, I didn't mean-" He stopped short as she scrambled across the mattress and crashed into his chest, her little hands fisting in his shirt as her tears soaked into the fabric. The pot meister was careful as he wrapped his arms around her, his hands burning and stinging. He shushed her gently, rubbing her back with the inside of his forearm as Fire still refused to look at him.

"Hey." He murmured, shifting a half sleeping lighting weapon so she was cradled in the crook of his arm. Fire still refused to look at him. "C'mon, dude. Fire...it's alright for you to have nightmares, okay?" The boy's eye flicked to him for a second, catching sight of his sleeping sister, and he softened a fraction. "D'you wanna sleep in my room tonight?" No answer, but he at least looked at him. "I figure that's where Thunder is gonna sleep, so-" Kilik raised his shoulder in a shrug. The boy stared at him for another long moment before wriggling down off the bed and over to their little plastic nightstand, rifling around until he pulled out a small jar, no bigger than Kilik's fist. After unscrewing the lid, he deftly swooped out a finger full and silently asked for his hand. Kilik furrowed his brows, but complied, handing his scalding hand over. With much more gentleness than he thought the boy possessed, Fire spread the goop over the burns, his face etched with little apologetic lines.

Kilik's hand almost immediately felt better. "What's that?"

Fire shrugged, "I dunno, 'got it from some old guy with some cool scars and a thing in his head."

Kilik raised a brow, "Before we met?"

Fire nodded, silently applying more salve to his opposite hand. He glanced at him once more before tucking the medicine away, mumbling something that vaguely sounded like 'I'm sorry.' Kilik smiled as he got back to his feet, carefully adjusting the softly snoring little girl in his arm. He swooped down to scoop up Fire as well, ignoring his indignant squawk as he padded back to his room. Man, they really were tiny. He guessed they were only about...seven? Six? Maybe he was wrong. No way could they be so small and light otherwise, right? Last time he'd seen his brother, he was seven, and reached a little bit above his hip. Huh.

As he adjusted the three of them in his bed, Kilik found he had a burning question searing his tired mind. Thunder curled against one side, her head pillowed on his arm, and Fire laid on the other. "Hey, Fire?" He whispered, unsure if he'd fallen asleep or not. The boy grunted, and Kilik pursed his lips at the darkness- his fingers slowly combing through Thunder's short little bob. "Do you wanna tell me what you guys' nightmare was about?"

Fire remained silent for a long time, and just as Kilik was about to succumb to the beautiful wave of unconsciousness that was tugging at his mind, he head the barest hints of the whisper, but he'd heard it all the same.

_"Our mom."_


End file.
